Thursday, July 17, 2003 | 9:54 a.m.
1903-09
OVERVIEW: The Coast League was organized in 1903 as an outgrowth of the California State League.
COMING IN: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle (1903), Tacoma (1904), Fresno (1906), Sacramento (1909).
GOING OUT: Sacramento (1904), Tacoma (1906), Seattle (1907), Fresno (1907).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: Admission to PCL games was raised from 25 cents to 35 cents in 1905.
1910-19
OVERVIEW: The league continues to struggle with shifting franchises and has only limited commercial success.
COMING IN: Venice (1913), Salt Lake City (1915), Vernon (1915), Salt Lake City (1918), Portland (1919), Seattle (1919).
GOING OUT: Vernon (1913), Sacramento (1915), Venice (1915), Portland (1918).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: Due to a mounting concern over World War I, PCL directors voted to end the 1918 season on July 14.
1920-29
OVERVIEW: The decade of the Roaring Twenties was the PCL's first great era as 200-game seasons were the norm and the league began to develop a reputation for outstanding baseball.
COMING IN: Hollywood (1926), San Francisco Mission Reds (1926).
GOING OUT: Salt Lake City (1926), Vernon (1926).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: The Los Angeles Angels admitted women free for all Sunday games in 1929, thus beginning the traditional "Ladies Day" promotion.
1930-39
OVERVIEW: PCL clubs are hit hard during the Great Depression. Night baseball becomes popular but the quality of play decreases due to reduced salaries. Joe DiMaggio signs with the San Francisco Seals as an 18-year-old in 1933, Bobby Doerr joins Hollywood at 16 the following year and 17-year-old Ted Williams breaks in with San Diego in 1936.
COMING IN: San Diego (1936), Hollywood (1938).
GOING OUT: Hollywood (1936), Mission Reds (1938).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: St. Louis Cardinals VP Branch Rickey designs his "chain store baseball" concept, purchasing the Sacramento franchise and declaring it the Cardinals' top affiliate.
1940-49
OVERVIEW: The PCL struggles during World War II but then comes back strong with new talent and big crowds, triggering a campaign to become pro baseball's third major league:
COMING IN: None.
GOING OUT: None.
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: In 1941, St. Louis Browns owner Don Barnes agreed to buy the Los Angeles Angels from P.K. Wrigley for a million dollars and move the Browns to LA for the 1942 season. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December, the move was voted down because it wasn't certain the 1942 season would be played. Major league expansion to the West Coast would be delayed for 16 years.
1950-57
OVERVIEW: The PCL began to struggle anew, as the advent of television and televised baseball kept fans away from the park and set the table for Major League Baseball's westerly expansion that would forever change the PCL.
COMING IN: Vancouver (1956).
GOING OUT: Oakland (1956).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: When Brookyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley bought the Los Angeles Angels for $3 million in 1957, he assured PCL directors that the Angels would continue to be part of the PCL.
1958-1969
OVERVIEW: The end of an era. The Dodgers and Giants relocate to California and the PCL, no longer the only game in town, becomes strictly a player development league. The league switches to a 154-game schedule to match those of the two major leagues. Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, Spokane and Vancouver form the redesigned PCL in 1958.
COMING IN: Tacoma (1960), Honolulu (1961), Denver (1963), Dallas-Fort Worth (1963), Oklahoma City (1963), Indianapolis (1965), Little Rock (1964), Vancouver (1965), Phoenix (1966), Tacoma (1966), Tulsa (1966), Eugene (1969), Tucson (1969).
GOING OUT: Phoenix (1960), Sacramento (1961), Vancouver (1963), Dallas (1965), Tacoma (1966), Salt Lake City (1966), Little Rock (1966), Seattle (1969), San Diego (1969), Denver (1969), Oklahoma City (1969), Tulsa (1969), Indianapolis (1969).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: Four days after he attacked a sports writer and was demoted to Hawaii, California Angels pitcher Bo Belinsky, who spent his later years in Las Vegas, failed to report and was suspended for the rest of the season.
1970-79
OVERVIEW: Franchises continue to shift, but as interest in minor league baseball increases, the PCL slowly pulls out of the doldrums of the 1960s.
COMING IN: Salt Lake City (1970), Albuquerque (1972), Spokane (1973), Sacramento (1974), San Jose (1977), Portland (1978), Vancouver (1978), Ogden (1979).
GOING OUT: Vancouver (1970), Spokane (1972), Portland (1973), Eugene (1974), Sacramento (1977), San Jose (1979).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: Only July 10, 1972, Albuquerque's Charlie Hough pitched in relief twice in the same inning. After retiring the first batter in the eighth, he switched to right field before returning one batter later to retire the side.
1980-89
OVERVIEW: The PCL stabilizes, with 10 teams in the league for every year in the decade. The addition of Las Vegas in 1983 gives the PCL some glamour, and Canadian franchises in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver add international spice.
COMING IN: Edmonton (1981), Las Vegas (1983), Calgary (1985), Colorado Springs (1988).
GOING OUT: Ogden (1981), Spokane (1983), Salt Lake City (1985), Hawaii (1988).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: On June 2, 1983, Albuquerque's Franklin Stubbs hit four home runs in the same game vs. Phoenix.
1990-2003
OVERVIEW: The PCL's renaissance continues, with the addition of six new teams from the American Association and Southern League, giving the league franchises spanning 2,400 miles and three time zones. Attendance continues to climb with the addition of new ballparks around the league.
COMING IN: Salt Lake City (1994), Iowa (1998), Nashville (1998), New Orleans (1998), Oklahoma City (1998), Omaha (1998), Fresno (1998), Sacramento (2000), Portland (2001), Albuquerque (2003).
GOING OUT: Portland (1994), Phoenix (1998), Vancouver (2000), Albuquerque (2001), Calgary (2003).
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW: On May 6, 1995, Mark Mimbs shut out the Phoenix Firebirds on one hit in six innings -- the same pitching line his brother Mike had pitching for the Phillies that very day against the Braves.
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